Various religious groups came together at St. Thomas University (STU) last night to mark the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the landmark document that transformed Jewish-Catholic relations. The event celebrated 50 years of groundbreaking progress with discussion, prayer and a special musical performance.
The commemoration – a joint effort by St. Thomas University, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Archdiocese of Miami in collaboration with the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews, the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, and the Jewish Community Relations Council – heard from Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations; and Rabbi Noam E. Marans, the AJC’s director of interreligious and intergroup relations.
Addressing the audience, Rabbi Marans said, “Nostra Aetate is the greatest interreligious transformation in history; and St. Thomas University is a living, breathing Nostra Aetate.”
Both Archbishop Auza and Rabbi Marans acknowledged that we still have a long way to go in terms of interreligious relations, but we are well on our way.
“So much good has come from the relationships Nostra Aetate helped establish,” said Archbishop Auza. “Much has been done, still there is much that needs to be achieved in terms of social action and creating more interreligious dialogue.”
Nostra Aetate, which is Latin for “in our time,” was issued in October 1965 by Pope John Paul VI to try and build better relationships and understanding with other religious groups.
The night concluded with a few words from Rabbi Solomon Schiff, executive vice president emeritus of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, and a musical performance by Paul Posnak and friends of the St. Martha-Yamaha concert series.
